1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card connecting adapter for relaying and connecting an information equipment such as a personal computer and a card for expanding the feature of the information equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a PC card slot has been generally provided in a notebook-sized personal computer. The feature of the notebook-sized personal computer can be expanded by mounting a PC card on the PC card slot. Examples of the PC card include a flash memory card, a modem card, and an SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) card.
The PC card adheres to a standard set by PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association), and its external form is a rectangle having a width of 54.0 mm and having a length of 85.6 mm as viewed from the top. There are two types of PC cards; one having a thickness of 3.3 mm (type I) and the other having a thickness of 5.0 mm (type II).
On the other hand, in a small-sized information equipment which is represented by a portable information equipment, a digital camera, and an electronic notebook, a PC card cannot be used as it is due to a strict request for miniaturization. Therefore, a smaller-sized CF (CompactFlash (trademark)) card may, in some cases, be used. A representative of the CF card is a flash memory card. The CF card containing a flash memory is used for storing data representing an image picked up by the digital camera or data representing a schedule or an address in the electronic notebook.
The CF card adheres to a standard set by CFA (CompactFlash Association). Conventionally, a CF card in an external shape of a rectangle having a width of 36.4 mm and having a length of 42.5 mm as viewed from the top and having a thickness of 3.3 mm has been generally used.
A small-sized information equipment does not necessarily have sufficient data processing capabilities. Therefore, for example, a digital camera is often under the necessity of accepting and editing data representing collected images in the notebook-sized personal computer, and an electronic notebook is often under the necessity of exchanging data representing a schedule or an address between the electronic notebook and a notebook-sized personal computer.
If an attempt to mount a CF card on a notebook-sized personal computer is made in order to accept data in a small-sized information equipment in the notebook-sized personal computer, the CF card cannot be mounted as it is because the PC card slot is constructed in accordance with the standard set by PCMCIA.
A card connecting adapter for connecting a CF card to a PC card slot has been conventionally provided.
The card connecting adapter has at its front end a first connecting portion connected to the PC card slot, and has at its rear end a second connecting portion connected to the CF card. The construction thereof in the vicinity of the second connecting portion is illustrated in FIG. 14.
Metal cover plates 302 and 303 for discharging a static charge from the human body are respectively provided on an upper surface and a lower surface of a card connecting adapter 301, similarly to a PC card. A plurality of terminals 306 are provided in parallel in a second connecting portion 305. The metal cover plates 302 and 303 respectively extend to positions where they can cover, from above and beneath, the plurality of terminals 306. By this construction, the terminals 306 are protected from deformation due to an external force.
The card connecting adapter 301 is constructed in imitation of a PC card of the type II, for example, and the distance between the surfaces of the metal cover plates 302 and 303 (that is, the thickness of the adapter 301) is set to 5.0 mm. In this case, a CF card 307 having a thickness of 3.3 mm enters a portion between the metal cover plates 302 and 303, so that it can be connected to the terminals 306.
A CF card 307 and the card connecting adapter 301 are thus integrated to form a PC card of the type II as a whole, which can be mounted on a PC card slot.
In a CF card containing a flash memory, a request to increase its storage capacity is strong. In order to meet the request, a CF card 310 adhering to a new standard which has the same plane shape as that in the conventional example and has a thickness of 5.0 mm has been proposed, as shown in FIG. 15. The CF card adhering to the proposed standard shall be referred to as "a CF card of a type II".
The CF card 310 of the type II has a thickness of 5.0 mm, which is the same as that of the card connecting adapter 301. Since the CF card 310 of the type II cannot enter the portion between the metal cover plates 302 and 303, it cannot be mounted on the card connecting adapter 301.
The increase in the thickness of the card connecting adapter 301 is not allowed because it does not meet the type II standard of the PC card. Therefore, it is considered that the CF card 310 of the type II is allowed to be mounted by eliminating projected parts 302a and 303a of the metal cover plates 302 and 303 to make the terminals 306 bare.
If the terminals 306 are bare, however, the terminals 306 may be deformed upon receipt of an external force under the circumstances where a CF card is not mounted.